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Remembering Icons of the past... Later in the year, Arista released
the two-disc compilation Greatest
Where would they be now? Hits, which actually featured one
disc of hits and one of remixes;
continued from page 1 Houston’s first hit, topping the R&B those two hits, sales of the album it also included new duets with
charts and hitting number three tapered off quickly, halting around Enrique Iglesias, George Michael,
By the end of the decade, she’d pop. Houston’s next three singles four million copies. Nevertheless, and Deborah Cox. It was also an-
nounced that Houston had signed
gone several years without a true -- the Grammy-winning romantic Houston remained so popular that a new deal with Arista worth $100
blockbuster, yet her status as an ballad “Saving All My Love for she could even take a recording million, requiring six albums from
icon was hardly diminished. You,” the brightly danceable “How of “The Star Spangled Banner” the singer. The self-styled come-
Will I Know,” and the inspirational (performed at the Super Bowl) into
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was “The Greatest Love of All” -- all the pop Top 20 -- though, of course, back album Just Whitney arrived
born in Newark, New Jersey, on topped the pop charts, and a year the Gulf War had something to in 2002, followed by One Wish:
August 9, 1963; her mother was to the month after its release, do with that. In retrospect, the The Holiday Album in November
gospel/R&B singer Cissy Hous- Whitney Houston hit number one erratic quality of I’m Your Baby of the following year. Two years
ton, and her cousin was Dionne on the album charts. It eventu- Tonight seemed to signal Hous- in awards and touring the world, new full-length album, My Love Is later, however, her personal issues
Warwick. By age 11, Houston was ally sold over 13 million copies, ton’s declining interest in making she prepared her next theatri- Your Love, her first in eight years. became even more public through
performing as a soloist in the making it the best-selling debut fully fleshed-out albums. Instead, cal release, the female ensemble Houston worked with pop/smooth the 2005 reality television series
junior gospel choir at her Baptist ever by a female artist. Houston she began to focus on an acting drama Waiting to Exhale. A few soul mainstays like Babyface and Being Bobby Brown, and she even-
church; as a teenager, she began cemented her superstar status on career, which she hadn’t pursued months before its release at the David Foster, but also recruited tually divorced her husband and
accompanying her mother in her next album, Whitney; despite since her teenage years; she also end of 1995, it was announced hip-hop stars like Missy Elliott, went into intense rehabilitation.
concert (as well as on the 1978 the unimaginative title, it became married singer Bobby Brown in that she and Brown had split up; Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Q- An album of new material was
album Think It Over), and went the first album by a female artist the summer of 1992. Her first however, they called off the split Tip. The album sold even fewer initially set for release by the
on to back artists like Lou Rawls to debut at number one, and sold feature film, a romance with Kevin just a couple months later, and copies than I’m Your Baby Tonight, end of 2007, but delays pushed it
and Chaka Khan. Houston also over nine million copies. Its first Costner called The Bodyguard, was rumors about their tempestuous but it received Houston’s most -- titled I Look to You, featuring col-
pursued modeling and acting, four singles -- “I Wanna Dance released in late 1992; it performed relationship filled the tabloids for enthusiastic reviews in quite some laborations with Alicia Keys and
appearing on the sitcoms Gimme with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” well at the box office, helped by years to come. Waiting to Exhale time. Moreover, it produced one of Swizz Beatz, R. Kelly, Akon, and
a Break and Silver Spoons. Some- (another Grammy winner), “Didn’t an ad campaign that seemingly was released toward the end of her biggest R&B chart hits (seven Diane Warren -- back to September
what bizarrely, Houston’s first re- We Almost Have It All,” “So Emo- centered around the climactic key the year, and the first single from weeks at number one) in the trio 2009. It became her first number
cording as a featured vocalist was tional,” and “Where Do Broken change in Houston’s soundtrack the soundtrack, “Exhale (Shoop number “Heartbreak Hotel,” done one album since the Bodyguard
with Bill Laswell’s experimental Hearts Go” -- all hit number one, recording of the Dolly Parton- Shoop),” topped the charts; the with Faith Evans and Kelly Price. soundtrack. She toured the world
jazz-funk ensemble Material; their an amazing, record-setting run of penned “I Will Always Love You.” album sold over seven million cop- She also duetted with Mariah during 2010, and talked about
1982 album One Down placed seven straight (broken by “Love In fact, the ad campaign undoubt- ies. For her next project, Houston Carey on “When You Believe,” a beginning recording for her next
Houston alongside such unlikely Will Save the Day”). In late 1988, edly helped “I Will Always Love decided to return to her gospel song from the animated film The album, but entered outpatient
avant-gardists as Archie Shepp Houston scored a Top Five hit with You” become the biggest single roots; the soundtrack to the 1996 Prince of Egypt. rehab in the summer of 2011 for
and Fred Frith. The following year, the non-LP single “One Moment in in pop music history. It set new film The Preacher’s Wife, which continuing drug and alcohol prob-
Arista president Clive Davis heard Time,” recorded for an Olympics- records for sales (nearly five mil- naturally featured Houston in the Unfortunately, Houston was also lems. That fall, Houston filmed a
Houston singing at a nightclub and themed compilation album. lion copies) and weeks at number title role, was loaded with tradi- back in the tabloids in early 2000; role in a remake of the 1976 musi-
offered her a record contract. Her one (14), although those were later tional and contemporary gospel she was arrested in Hawaii when cal film Sparkle, starring along-
first single appearance was a duet Houston returned with her third broken by Elton John’s “Candle in songs, plus guest appearances by airline authorities reportedly side Jordin Sparks. In early 2012,
with Teddy Pendergrass, “Hold album, I’m Your Baby Tonight, the Wind 1997” and Mariah Carey Houston’s mother, Shirley Caesar, found marijuana in her luggage rumors began to swirl that Simon
Me,” which missed the Top 40 in in 1990; a more urban-sounding, and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet and the Georgia Mass Choir. Hous- (the charges were later dismissed). Cowell was courting Houston for
1984. R&B-oriented record, it immedi- Day,” respectively. Meanwhile, ton also began making headlines Speculation about Houston’s
ately spun off two number one hits the soundtrack eventually sold an personal life only grew when she a mentor spot on The X Factor, but
Houston’s debut album, Whitney in the title track and “All the Man astounding 16 million copies, and for what appeared to be increasing was dropped from the Academy before anything came of it tragedy
Houston, was released in March That I Need.” But the quality of also won a Grammy for Album of unreliability, canceling several TV Awards telecast that March, of- occurred. On February 11, the day
1985. Its first single, “Someone for the material was generally viewed the Year. and concert appearances due to ficially because of a sore throat, before the 2012 Grammys, Hous-
Me,” was a flop, but the second as, overall, much weaker than her illness. but reputedly due to poor rehears- ton was found dead in her room at
try, “You Give Good Love,” became previous efforts, and following Once Houston had stopped raking In 1998, Houston finally issued a als and a generally out-of-it air. the Beverly Hills Hilton. ~

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